By Mark Manning | Development Director
Summer is in full swing and the Dragonfly Forest team couldn't be happier! We have undergone some big changes over this past year, as previously reported in our April report. Our partnership with the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA continues and allowed us to expand our session offerings from four weeklong sessions to five in 2017! As a part of the YMCA, we will work to introduce more and more children with a unique need to this supportive community each summer.
We are so excited to serve hundreds of children this summer! We just held a session for children with 22q11.2 chromosome deletion syndrome (formerly known as DiGeorge syndrome, among other names) that allowed children from multiple states to meet peers and counselors like them. Meanwhile, through the magic of camp, they're learning important skills like how to make friends and manage their own health.
Here are some of our favorite reviews from week 1 of camp:
"I love that everybody understands me and I have fun every time even when I am tired and that I can make new friends whenever I want" -female camper, yellow unit"The visit should be for two weeks!" -male camper, blue unit"It's fun and people know your diagnosis and I feel safe here." -female camper, blue unit
On top of that, our first group of participants already feel the positive effects of camp. Over 55% of children this past week stated that their friends back home don't really understand their diagnosis. Meanwhile, over 68% of campers said it helps them to meet people like them and over 78% of campers said camp helped them learn to tell other people what they need. There is power in meeting people who get it from the get go and understand ones' unique needs. That's the community we strive to make every day this summer at Dragonfly Forest. On top of that, children leave with skills that will help them in their daily lives back home.
Our operations team is hard at work creating an amazing second week for children with autism and 22q this week, so we'll have to save the personal stories for the next report! In the meantime, please enjoy the attached photos and follow along with our summer on our Facebook page!
You can see more photos of our first week of camp here.
In gratitude,
Mark ManningDevelopment Directormark.manning@philaymca.org484-431-4898Links:
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